Mark Warner on Corporations

Democratic VA Governor

Financial crisis stems from companies over-borrowing

The two candidates agreed that the country needs more oversight in its financial sector, following the recent crisis on Wall Street.

Gilmore said the situation stems from companies allowing too much borrowing against too little assets. “We simply have
to have more oversight right now to make sure that people understand that they can’t operate their businesses that way against the public interest,” he said.

Warner faulted Washington and Wall Street for being “asleep at the switch.” He said the country should look at
Britain’s use of a single financial regulator as a possible model to fix the current crisis. “If there was ever a time to send somebody to Washington that can read a balance sheet... it’s now,” Warner said.

More state contracts for minority & women-owned businesses

Gov. Warner recognized that small businesses and those owned by women and minorities were not receiving a fair share of state government spending on goods and services. The numbers were shocking. When Gov. Warner took office, minority and women-owned
businesses combined accounted for a mere 1.27% of state contracts, even though minority companies constituted 15% of all Virginia private businesses. As a result of these efforts, procurement from women-owned and minority businesses nearly quadrupled.